Jason and the Prophecy of Lost
by chorkie
Summary: No matter what Jason does, he always is in a new foster home every six months. And now he's moving again. As usual. The only good news is, is that he'll be moving in with his best friend Haley's uncle, Gregor. And she'll be with him for the summer. But there is something strange about him that Jason can't quite figure out. It seems Gregor has a world of secrets . . .
1. Prolouge

From the moment Gregor left the Underland, he knew he could never go back to how he lived before. Nothing could be the same. Larry and Angelina had started to ignore him more and more often. They never questioned the scars, the lame excuses, the outbursts of anger. But they kept their distance. He could see it in their eyes that he was creepy. Randomly disappearing, popping up months later depressed and moody. He couldn't focus in school. His grades dropped from lack of attendance and the inability to concentrate in class; Straight Bs and As down to consistent Ds.

Gregor had unknowingly adopted a brooding look that now dominated his facial expressions. And it often got him into trouble. He knew he was walking a tight line, and suspension was only a few hairsbreadths away. With all the fights he was getting into, he was just waiting for another call to the principle's Not that it would have mattered much to him. His parents would be upset, but he would be relocated soon. He'd have a fresh chance to try controlling the Rage.

Things only got worse once his grandma died. Now that nothing was holding them down, Gregor's parents were now determined to move to Virginia, to start a new life. One not filled with freakishly pale, purple-eyed people, or with giant rats, spiders, bats, cockroaches or mice. No more wars, quests, plagues. Especially plagues, his mom would add. At the end of the school year, everything had either been packed up or sold, and ready to move. Despite Boots' and his mom and dad's cheerful attitude about the whole trip, they failed to notice Gregor wasn't the only one not in favor of moving. Lizzie had become especially quiet and somber. Gregor guessed it was because she missed her friend Jedediah. And of course Ripred. Boots had abandoned talking about Temp, the baby 'mouses', and Dulcie all day. Now she chattered on and on about farm animals.

Gregor's uncle Jeff had taken in the Neely family gladly, giving them a warm welcome. He spent most of his time there recalling his adventures in the Underland and writing them down. It helped to ease the pain a little. What helped the most was track and field. He'd joined the High school cross-country team, and the wrestling team. When he'd shown up to the first meet, the coach looked at him skeptically, given Gregor's lanky build, but soon learned he was stronger than he looked when he choked-out one of the Juniors on his back in twelve seconds flat. Luckily, it didn't trigger his Rager sense. While wrestling, he could feel it humming inside him, waiting to activate at any sign of real danger. High school wasn't as bad as Gregor thought it would be, even though he hadn't made any friends by the end of his third year. He sometimes hung out with some guys from the cross-country and wrestling teams, but they weren't really friends.

He'd mostly managed to block the Underland from his mind. There was no way he could get through each day knowing he wasn't home. Gregor forced himself to forget everything until he had a chance to go back. And for the most part, he succeeded. But one thing managed to squirm through his defenses and reside in his mind: Luxa. There was no forgetting her. She was an ever-present memory in his brain. Gregor thought he'd moved on from her, but sure enough, deep down, his feelings had only grown. Though he denied it to himself every day. When asked why he never accepted any dates from girls, he would only shrug. But his subconscious knew the real reason.

Gregor _needed_ to go to the Underland. He was so desperate to be there, with Luxa, with Vikus, with Mareth, Howard, Hazard . . . everyone he loved. The summer of his Junior year he asked his parents to visit New York City. His mom freaked out, practically having a mental break down. The whole summer she never let Gregor out of her sight, for fear he'd somehow run off. Those months were hard. But something resolved inside of Gregor. He'd seen the terrors of war. The loss it caused. He wouldn't have wished war on his worst enemy. Gregor strove to learn all he could about peace, and what caused war, to prevent conflicts. In hopes that his contribution to the world, however small, would impact the world for peace. He studied government, psychology, sociology, and other similar sciences. Knowing future generations would encounter the same problems that had been met by people in the past and the present, Gregor committed himself to this, promising to educate the public.

That was how he got through those hard, long years away from his real home.


	2. Chapter 1

**Hey, all. Just so ya know, this story will not revolve around Gregor and Luxa. They will be in it, and a large part of it, but not the main characters. Most of the story will be based on OCs, primarily Jason and Haley.**

 **Characters I own: Jason, Haley, Sebastian, Ronny, Vikus II, Lukas, Maggie, Argus, Atlas, Castor, Pollux, Helios, Luckslip, Hector, Bumbolt, Cory, Jupiter, and a bunch of other characters I was too lazy to write down. If they aren't in the books, they are probably mine.  
**

 **Feel free to comment constructive criticism, and suggestions. Special thanks to** **Vengeous for reviewing!**

 **Enjoy!**

"Well," Haley said to Jason, shifting her duffel bag on her shoulder, "here's our home for the summer." She rang the doorbell with her free hand and stepped back. Shortly, a tall, long limbed man in his mid thirties opened the door and ushered them in. He was dressed semi-casually, with jeans and a button down shirt tucked in at the waste.

"Oh, Haley, it's good to see you," he said, beaming at her. She hugged him and kissed him on the cheek.

"Hi, Uncle Gregor." The man turned to Jason and looked him up and down.

"And I take it you're Jason?" he asked.

Jason nodded. "It's nice to meet you, Mister . . .?" he said, trailing off.

"Neely," Haley's uncle replied. "But call me Gregor. Here, come on in, and I'll show you to your rooms." Gregor motioned for them to follow him down a wide hallway, with strange fantasy paintings hanging from the wall. Most of them looked like they were supposed to be under ground. Jason thought back to when his old foster parents brought him to a museum where they'd found part of a pirate ship in a cave. That had been pretty darn cool. One of the pictures really caught Jason's eye; at the end of the hall, in an artfully designed frame, was a painting of an incredibly pale young woman in a long, red dress. She had a slightly arrogant tilt to her head, framed by braided locks of silvery blond hair. A scar cut across her cheekbone, giving her what Jason would have described as a 'bad-ass warrior' look. Yet, what Jason found the strangest about the image was the color of her eyes: a stunning shade of violet.

Gregor led them to two rooms close to the end of the hall, and left them to unpack their belongings. Jason's room was simple and functional, furnished with a desk, bookshelf, bed and nightstand. A wall (part of which was actually a closet) separated the rooms, but there was an adjoining door in the middle of the wall. Jason knocked on it. Haley's curious face poked through the door and smiled.

"This is neat," she said enthusiastically, opening the door wider. "It'll be like being neighbors. And it's no wonder they put the door in. I mean, the structural supports of the closets aren't very secure. I can tell by the way the wall leans a few degrees off to the side toward the top. Theoretically, it shouldn't– " she stopped when she saw Jason giving her a clueless look. "I suppose I'm confusing you again, aren't I?" Jason laughed and nodded.

"Well someone's got to keep me in line," he said, poking Haley's shoulder softly.

"That's my job, alright," she giggled, poking him back. She and Jason smiled at each other for a while, just content to look at one another. A flash of annoyance crossed Jason's mind as he remembered how frequently he and Haley were teased for being such close friends. Always being lumped together as a couple. Both Jason and Haley knew there were absolutely no feelings of that sort. Haley handled the jokes in stride, but they infuriated Jason. Luckily, Haley's mother, Mrs. Nelson, understood it was a brother-sister relationship. Nothing more. Jason sensed Gregor had figured that out already.

"I'm going to unpack my stuff," he announced, turning away and unzipping his backpack. He bit his lip at the small amount of clothing inside, consisting of two pairs of grungy jeans, five shirts, a thin jacket, three and a half pairs of socks, and a few tattered boxers. Other than that, the only thing he owned were a few Muay Thai trophies, and kickboxing style gloves. The gloves were well worn, but Jason had been careful to take good care of them. After all, they were his only inheritance from his father, beside the trophies. Lee McPherson had been a professional striker, making his way up the ranks quickly. _Too quickly,_ Jason thought sadly to himself. He hadn't had time to catch the rapidly growing tumor in the back of his skull and neck. The doctors had thought the reason for his blinding headaches was from a recent car accident, where his neck had been painfully tweaked. He'd died tragically in a debuting title bout. On the verge of winning, he collapsed onto the ground and started convulsing. By the time the paramedics reached the ring, Jason's father was dead. It wasn't till after the autopsy that they found the tumor. And no one knew who his mother was. Just one day he showed up as a baby at a random person's house with a birth certificate. But the space where his mother's name was supposed to be was empty.

Jason sighed and put his little belongings inside the closet, leaving sufficient space for ten times more clothing than he had. He made a mental note to ask Gregor to take him to the store. He also needed a toothbrush. The sound of a door opening caught his attention, and the sound of voices. "Hey Haley," Gregor called, "Your Aunt Margret is here with Cory. Have Jason come out to meet her, too." Jason walked swiftly toward the door and stepped out, following Haley toward the entryway. There stood a woman, presumably Haley's aunt, talking playfully with Mr. Neely. She held a toddler on her hip, who was sucking away happily on his fist.

"Well look at you," she said, looking Haley up and down and smiling. "Holy cow, you've grown!"

"Cow!" squawked the toddler, taking his fist out of his mouth. "Uncie Ge-go have cow!"

Haley laughed as she lifted him into her arms. "No, silly. Uncle Gregor doesn't have a cow. But Grandpa does, on his farm in Virginia."

"How are Mom and Dad, Margret?" Gregor asked the woman. She nodded.

"They're good. Content. Who's this?" Margret inquired, turning to Jason, who held out his hand.

"Jason McPherson," he replied. She shook it.

"He'll be staying with me for the summer. Possibly longer," explained Mr. Neely.

"I'm Margret," she said. "Gregor's little sister. And this is my son Cory."

"I Cory," the little boy cried happily. "Cory, Cory, Cory. You Jay?"

Jason smiled. He had a soft spot for little kids. "Yep. I'm Jay," he said. Cory stared at him for a second, before breaking into a huge grin and reaching out to him with a chubby hand, poking him below the eye.

"Puh-pul!" he exclaimed. "Jay have puh-pul eyes." Jason nodded. He was used to comments about his unique eye color, and pale skin. A doctor he once went to said it could be from a rare genetic mutation called Alexandria's Genesis. This tended to draw him a lot of attention.

". . . are in the diaper bag. All good?" Jason was prodded out of his musing as Margret was giving Gregor instructions.

Gregor smiled and nodded. "We'll be fine. Have fun in Jamaica, Boots."

She scrunched her nose up and half glared at him, half grinned. "You haven't called me that in years. See you in two weeks, Ge-go."

Shortly after Margret left, Gregor took the three of them to the store for groceries, and to buy Jason some clothes. And a toothbrush. Gregor put Cory in one of those backpack-harnesses so he couldn't run very far. As it was, he would run up to random strangers and say, "Hi! Hi, you!" Haley picked out a new pair of shoes and a book titled, _The Theory of Singularities._

"You don't have to worry about cost, Jason," Gregor said kindly, while Jason was looking in the clearance isle, finding the cheapest options available. "I can afford it." Jason thanked him sincerely, and headed over to look at a pair of jeans he'd been secretly admiring. By the time they were done shopping, Jason felt thoroughly spoiled, and his liking of Gregor grew and grew. Mr. Neely bought him ten shirts, six tee shirts and four long sleeved, five pairs of jeans, three pairs of shorts, two twelve packs of socks, and sixteen pairs of underwear. Beside those essentials, Gregor threw in a pair of running shoes and some boots.

After shopping, they had lunch at a Chinese food restaurant, and then headed home for dessert, and to put Cory down for a nap. Haley and Jason played chess a few times, while Gregor got some apple cobbler ready. Haley kicked Jason's butt every time. After loosing miserably for the fifth time, Jason excused himself to do laundry. Holding the basket in front of him, he carefully stepped down the stairs into the basement. He was almost giddy with excitement over the fact that he _actually had enough clothes._ It was ten times more than he ever had, since living with his Aunt Iris. A wave of sadness washed over him at the though. _I miss you, Auntie,_ Jason thought sadly. He pushed her out of his mind, as his hand groped along the wall for the light switch in the darkness of the cellar. Finally, he flipped the lights on. Walking over to the washing machine, he lifted the top, and dumped the clothes into the washer, along with the detergent. Jason clicked the machine on, and turned to walk back up the stairs. His eyebrows drew together as a strange rattling noise came from behind him. He spun on his heel to investigate, and his eyes were drawn to a vent next to the washing machine, with the grate flapping open. Strange misty stuff came wafting out of it, curling up toward the ceiling. Jason shrugged, walked over to it, and pushed it closed. After waiting a few seconds to make sure it stayed shut, he once again turned to leave. Haley appeared in the stairway.

"The cobbler's ready when –" She froze, her eyes locked on the wall behind Jason. He spun around just as his friend emitted a high-pitched scream. Jason followed suit when he saw what had caused her reaction. The grate was completely unhinged, and, in the vent, was a dark, furry head. Jason looked around quickly for a makeshift weapon, and grabbed a pool stick and went to whack the thing across the face. A strong hand stopped his arms, and pushed him back. Gregor rushed to the vent.

"Hector," he said, "What's wrong?"

"Ronny," panted the creature, "Gregor, Ronny has been taken." Gregor's body turned rigid.

"Who took him?" he demanded urgently.

"We do not know," it gasped. "You are needed in Regalia."

"Give me a minute," he replied, getting to his feet. "Jason," Gregor barked, "Go get Cory. Quickly." Jason dashed out of the room and threw the door open, revealing Cory cheerfully hitting a stuffed animal's head on the wall.

"Hi, Jay! We go play?" he asked, beaming. Jason shook his head and lifted the toddler into his arms. "Where we go?" Cory asked again.

"I haven't the faintest," Jason muttered, rushing back down the hall, and down the stairs.


End file.
